GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Despite a huge double-double effort from Blaire Fowler, the Lincoln Memorial University volleyball team was downed by the Tusculum College Pioneers, 3-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-21, 25-17), in South Atlantic Conference action on Tuesday evening.

The Lady Railsplitters drop two-straight SAC matches for the first time all season, falling to 8-4 in league play and 16-10 overall. The Pioneers improve to 8-4 in the SAC and 14-6 on the year with the victory.

LMU’s efforts were headed by Fowler’s 19-kill, 16-dig performance, both of which were team-leading figures. The Fort Worth, Texas, native’s 19 kills led all players in the match, as she compiled that number on a .410 attack percentage. Kaitlin Walton also performed admirably for the Lady Railsplitters with 12 kills on 26 attempts, while Jennifer Drumm tallied 11 kills. Brittany Pugh distributed 25 assists, while Allison Beavers added 19 in the losing effort. Aside from Fowler, Pugh led the way for Lincoln Memorial with 12 digs to tally a double-double. Beavers also notched a double-double with ten digs total.

The Pioneers were paced offensively by Bailee Price, as she recorded 16 kills to lead Tusculum to victory. Price added 11 digs to finish with a double-double effort on the night. The setting duo of Ashley Sarmiento and Hannah Berling combined for 43 assists, paced by Sarmiento’s 25 dishes. Caitlyn Dean steadied the defensive side of the contest for the Pioneers with a game-high 27 digs.

The story of the contest came on the defensive side of the ball as the Pioneers outdug (69-65) and outblocked (10-2) the Lady Railsplitters. Despite outnumbering the Pioneers in the battle of kills (56-49), Lincoln Memorial was forced into 25 attack errors, while Tusculum minimized their miscues to ten over that same stretch. The Lady Railsplitters finished with a .194 attack percentage, while the Pioneers notched a .291 attack percentage over the span of the match.

LMU will take a break from game action for the next week before returning to the court on Oct. 30. Lincoln Memorial looks to get back on track in South Atlantic Conference play as they host Mars Hill in Mary E. Mars Gymnasium at 7 p.m.